Shenmue 1 and 2 on PS4/XB1 listed by multiple online retailers

Nothing official yet, but at least four online retailers have listed “Shenmue 1 & 2 Pack” for PS4 and Xbox One. Alza, Heureka, GetGame, and MadGamer all have listings up currently. They lack promo art or photos of the physical product, but the game name and SEGA branding are present, and the listings are still active at the time of this writing.

With the highly anticipated and long awaited Shenmue 3 getting closer, it’s a no-brainer for SEGA to take advantage of the excitement and goodwill towards the franchise. Porting the original two to current-gen systems shouldn’t be too difficult and juding from the monstrous support for Shenmue 3, the re-releases would sell quite well. Toss in a few extras like artwork or a director’s commentary (please on that one) and you could justify charging $40 USD (at the most) for the 1 & 2 pack. It’s probably not worth it to remake them from the ground up as they’ll sell like gangbusters as-is, with Shenmue fans clamoring for ways to play the cult classics on modern systems with reliable methods.

Of course, these listings could be fake, but I’d be shocked if SEGA didn’t at least pop out a bare-bones port. Contracting a third-party like Bluepoint would be an easy way to cash in on the Shenmue 3 kickstarter pre-orders and help build even more hype towards the third entry. There’s probably a section of Shenmue 3 backers that haven’t even played the originals, or at least not completed them. And I’m sure a huge chunk would love to replay the first two chapters in preparation for the conclusion.

SEGA has already hinted at a remaster of the original games, even registering ShenmueHD.com at one point.

Shenmue 3‘s release date was pushed back from Holiday 2017 to second half of 2018, so we’ll definitely have time to run through Shenmue 1+2 at least once while waiting.

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Mathew is a huge fan of Space, Strategy, and Shadowrun (Genesis version is #1). When it comes to games and films, he’d much rather experience a 10/10 classic from yesteryear than a 6/10 modern blandfest. He does feel we’re living in a gaming golden age with the power of indie developers at an all-time high, but wishes AAA publishers would take more risks. Mat believes it’s only a matter of time before the pendulum swings the other way and new ideas take their rightful place above reboots.